Why Find An Attorney For A DUI Instead Of A Public Defender Or Going It Alone?

Public defenders are often very good attorneys, but they do not have the ability to hold the client’s hand or give the personal attention that I try to give. For me, every client is important and when someone hires my firm, they would be hiring me, not somebody else, because I am a solo practitioner. I may have a colleague or an associate come in or show up for a calendar call or a case management conference, but if we were actually doing a trial and when it came to speaking with the prosecutor, I would be the person they would be talking to.

I would be the person the client talked to if they called on the phone and wanted to understand what the discovery showed and wanted to understand what was going to happen, and I would explain what options they had. The client would not be dealing with an associate who had been doing this for three months or who was somebody who was too busy to be able to answer the phones.

I always make myself available for my clients even though I am very busy. It may be after hours or at night but we would spend time and go over everything. I would not allow my client to stand up in front of a court without understanding exactly what we were doing there each time and what we were expecting to come out of it and what the procedure would be.

The second fact is that I happen to be very well trained in this area and I have a great deal of experience. I have learned from some of the older attorneys and I am able to offer those skills and that experience to my clients.

What Was Your Favorite Victory And Success In Defending A DUI Case?

One of the best cases that I defended that I am most proud of is the case involving the mother of some young children who was on medications. Two different doctors had given her prescription medications that contradicted one another, so she ended up having an adverse reaction. She was charged with not only a DWI but also with endangering the welfare of her children so there was a chance she could lose her children because of all of this and she could go to jail for seven to 10 years.

We were able to explain to the court what was going on and how everything was interacting through the careful examination of the case as well as speaking with her doctors and speaking with expert pharmacologists, toxicologists and psychiatrists, so we were able to have all of the charges completely dismissed because it was absolutely not her fault.

Another case that I was very proud of involved a member of the Armed Forces who had recently gotten back from a very long time in Afghanistan. He had been on four tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. When the officers encountered him, he was not able to walk or do the walk-and-turn properly and his speech was a little bit slurred.

All of this turned out to be because of injuries he had received while in combat, so while his ability to drive was not affected, he was not able to speak or walk as well as he had been able to because of his injuries, so he looked like somebody who could not stand up straight. Being a military man, he was not likely to admit to any sort of shortcoming, so once we went through everything and were able to explain the situation with the records and go through and show the video that showed exactly what had occurred, we were able to get the charges against him dismissed as well.

What Would Be The Quickest Way For Someone to Get Back to a Normal Life?

The first thing would be to assume the person would not be going to jail and they would only be dealing with the suspension of their license and various financial implications.

I always tell my clients to plan in advance, because we usually know before we go into court whether or not there was a chance they might lose their license. They should make plans in advance to be able to get to work and get around. The judge does not want to hear that the person had no clue whatsoever what would happen. The person should make those arrangements beforehand, so that starting the next morning they could still get to work and fulfill whatever responsibilities they had to.

Additionally, once the person got their license back, they should just make sure they do not put themselves in the same position again. Someone who felt they had a dependency problem of some sort, should address that situation so that once that situation was addressed, they would be able to try to cope with it and get back up on their feet that much quicker.

For the most part, people should not be surprised when they have to start paying fines and they should not let it become the “be all and end all” of their lives. There are many more aspects to people’s lives than simply this one issue in this case, because once it is over, they should try to make sure they are set up to be able to get to work and continue going, otherwise they would run into problems. Someone who had not made those arrangements and who suddenly could not go to work and lost their job, would start a downward spiral which would become something we would want to avoid.

For more information on How Attorney Ben Kelsen Can Help, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you’re seeking by calling (201) 654-4695 today.

Benjamin G. Kelsen, Esq.

Aggressive & Uncompromising Legal Representation

Over 13 Years of Experience

Member:
New Jersey Bar Association
Bergen County Bar Association
American Association for Justice
Association of Trial Lawyers of America - New Jersey

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